A History of Disappointments
----------------------------
Charles Taze Russell was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on February 16,
1852. Troubled by various church doctrines, such as teachings on hell, he
became a skeptic at age 17.
In 1870 he was exposed to the teachings of William Miller, one of the
originators of the Second Adventist movement. Miller had originally
taught that Christ would return in October,1843. When this event failed,
his followers continued to set new dates, each a complete failure as a
prophecy of "things to come." But the Millerites provided Charles with
(1) a religious denial of hell, and (2) stimulating studies in
end-of-the age prophecies.
Russell gradually popularized his end-time studies and founded the
International Bible Students Association. On December 18,1884, Zion's
Watch Tower Tract Society became a publishing subsidiary of the
Association, extending Charles' influence through works like Millennial
Dawn and Studies In The Scriptures.
By 1886 Russell had published The Divine Plan of the Ages, projecting
that 1914 would witness Armageddon and the dawn of Christ's thousand year
rule on earth. He also taught that the "end times" started in 1799 and
that Christ had returned in 1874. These dates were later changed when
Armageddon failed to appear in 1914.
After a legal separation from his wife in 1906 and the failure of his
1914 and 1915 prophecies, Russell died on October 31,1916. Joseph
("Judge") Rutherford emerged as the new head. Reworking Russell's
chronologies, he falsely predicted Armageddon would be in 1918, then
1995.
Still expecting the resurrection of Old Testament saints to take charge
of God's new world order, the Society erected a house in San Diego,
California,in 1929. The house, called Beth Sarim ("House of Princes"),
would shelter these coming "princes of the earth," among whom would be
King David, Samson, and Joseph. Again, this prophecy also failed.
Under Rutherford the publishing organization merged with the church
proper and gave birth to the present religious corporation. In 1931 the
title "Jehovah's Witnesses" was adopted.
A Lot of Publicity,
A Lack of Integrity
In 1942 Nathan H. Knorr stepped into Rutherford's position. Knorr's most
memorable accomplishment was overseeing the completion of The New World
Translation of the Bible in 1961. Of the four members of the translation
committee (Frederick Franz, Knorr, Albert Schroeder, and George Gangas),
Frederick Franz was the only one with any exposure to the biblical
languages, having studied Greek for two years at the University of
Cincinnati but being self taught in Hebrew. Franz, chairman of the
committee, eventually took the helm of the organization in 1977.
The Jehovah's Witnesses' growth increased dramatically when in 1966
Franz, in his Life Everlasting in the Freedom of the Sons of God,
determined that "the seventh period of a thousand years of human history
will begin in the fall of 1975 CE (Christian Era)" (P 29)
This intimation became a full-blown expectation of Armageddon and the
visible establishment of Christ's reign on earth. In 1974 many Witnesses
even sold their homes and property in anticipation of the event. But like
all the other dates set by the Watchtower, 1975 came and went
uneventfully.
Despite the subsequent disillusionment of many and an internal "purging
of apostates" in the Brooklyn headquarters, the Jehovah's Witnesses still
continue to grow in numbers. Indicative of this growth is the massive
circulation of The Watchtower magazine, a major Witness periodical, which
by September of 1990 had ballooned to 13,950,000 copies per issue.
DOCTRINE OF GOD
JW The doctrine of the Trinity is "a false, unbiblical doctrine"
originated by Satan (Make Sure Of All Things,1953 ed., p.386; Let God Be
True, p.101 ).
BIBLE There is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), but three distinct Persons in
the Godhead, the Father (Philippians 2:11), Jesus Christ the Son (John
5:18), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4,9).
JW Christ the Son was originally the first created being of Jehovah God
(Let God Be True, p. 32).
BIBLE Christ the Son is eternal, uncreated God (John 8:58;cf. Revelation
1:17-18 and Isaiah 44:6).
JW Jesus Christ was actually the incarnation of Michael the archangel;
Christ resumed the name Michael when He ascended to heaven (Your Will Be
Done On Earth, p.316-7; New Heavens and a New Earth, p.30).
BIBLE Nowhere is Michael said to have become Christ or vice versa; the
Bible sharply distinguishes between angels and the exalted office of
Christ (Hebrews 1:1-14).
JW Jesus Christ arose from the grave as a spirit person, Jehovah allowing
Him to materialize a different body in which to appear to His disciples
(Your Will Be Done On Earth, p.143; Make Sure Of All Things,1953 ed.,
p.314) .
BIBLE Jesus Christ arose in the same body that was laid in the tomb,
which explains the marks of crucifixion, the empty tomb, and the empty
burial wrappings (Luke 24:39; John 20:20,25,27; John 20:1-9,
respectively).
JW The Holy Spirit is not a Person, but rather the impersonal, active
force of God (Let God Be True, 2nd ed., p.108; The Watchtower, June 1,
1952, p.24).
BIBLE The Holy Spirit is an eternal Person, possessing all the essence of
God (John 14:16- 17,26; Acts 5:3-4) .
DOCTRINE OF MAN
JW A person's soul is an inseparable part of the body, so that when a
person dies there is no continued existence of the soul (Make Sure Of All
Things,1953 ed., pp.349,352) .
BIBLE Christ taught that there is life after death (Luke 16:19-31),
Christ promised continuing life the same day after death (Luke 23:39-43),
and Paul taught an independent existence apart from the body after death
(2 Corinthians 5:5-8; Philippians 1 :19-24).
JW The doctrine of the immortality of the soul finds its origin with
Satan (Let God Be True,2nd ed., pp.74,75).
BIBLE The immortality of the soul is a God-inspired truth (Ecclesiastes
12:7; 2 Corinthians 5:1,6-8).
JW Since there is no continued existence of the soul after death,
Jehovah's Witnesses who die will eventually be recreated from Jehovah's
memory to inhabit His kingdom (Make Sure Of All Things,1953 ed., p.311) .
BIBLE The resurrection is a returning of the soul back to its body (1
Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11 -17), and will happen when Christ returns (Luke
24:36-43; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:39-54)
DOCTRINE OF SALVATION
JW Christ's death only purchased for mankind the earthly life and earthly
blessings lost when Adam sinned (Studies in the Scriptures, V. S, p.145).
BIBLE Christ's death purchased present forgiveness of sins and blessings
beyond this earthly existence (Ephesians 1:3-14).
JW Christ's death only provides an opportunity for a person to attain
eternal life through obeying God's laws. There is no assurance of eternal
life (Studies in the Scriptures, V.1, pp.150,152).
BIBLE Christ's death provides salvation from sin for all who accept by
faith His sacrifice on their behalf (1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians Z:8-9). The
eternal life given by grace to believers is also preserved by God (1 John
5:11 -13; John 6:39,10:28-29) .
JW Christs blood shed on Calvary applies only to 144,000 elite JWs (the
"Israel of God") and not for the "great crowd," the remainder of JWs
(Aide To Bible Understanding, p.389).
BIBLE Christ died on behalf of all men (1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 2:2; 2
Corinthians 5:15; Hebrews 2:9).
JW One can live in God's paradise only through (1) studying the Bible,
(2) associating with Jehovah's Witnesses, (3) changing living habits from
the former way to God's way (requiring JW baptism), and (4) being a
preacher and a witness of God's kingdom (From Paradise Lost To Paradise
Regained, pp.242-249).
BIBLE Salvation is offered only through trusting Jesus Christ as Savior
(Acts:10-12, 10:42-43; Romans 3:21-24).
JW The doctrine of a burning hell where the wicked are tortured eternally
after death is false (Make Sure of All Things,1953 ed., pp.154-55) .
BIBLE Hell is a place of everlasting torment for the unrepentant wicked
(Revelation 20:11-15; Matthew 13:41 -42,49-SO; Mark 9:47-48) .
Witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses
PRINCIPLE 1: Recognize that the real problem when witnessing to a
Jehovah's Witness is the question of religious authority.
To a Witness, the Bible as interpreted by the Watchtower has authority,
and he is trained not to trust himself or others to interpret the Bible.
Even if you manage to give a Witness arguments he cannot answer, he will
just contact the Watchtower and they will give him answers.
PRINCIPLE 2: To destroy a Witness' blind obedience to the Watchtower, you
must demonstrate that the Watchtaower is not reliable. You must prove
that the Watchtower is not "God's visible organization on earth."
Otherwise, a Witness cannot place his confidence in the Word of God alone.
PRINCIPLE 3: The most efficient way of destroying a Witness' blind
allegiance to the Watchtower is to show from Scripture and official
Watchtower literature that the Watchtower is a false prophet. Since it
is a false prophet, it is unreliable and unworthy of trust or respect.
Throughout your discussion with a Witness, always place him on your side
and stress that the Watchtower is trying to deceive both of you. It is
"We" against "them."
Step 1: Establish from Scripture that a true prophet of God will always
be infallible in his prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:20-22; Matthew 7:15-20).
The Watchtower has claimed to be God's inspired prophet who gives
prophecies under angelic direction and speaks in Jehovah's name (The
Watchtower, April 1, 1 972, p. 1 97) .
Step 2: Demonstrate that in 100 years of giving prophecies the Watchtower
has had a 100% failure rate. (See Dr. Morey's book listed on the resource
page for full documentation of these failures.)
Step 3: According to Deuteronomy 18 and Matthew 7, the Watchtower is a
false prophet and does not speak in God's name. As such, the Scriptures
commans us not to fear, respect, believe or trust what the Watchtower
says. Don't be deceived. "Mistakes" are not the same as "false
prophecies." We all make mistakes, but the Society claimed to predict
dates on God's authority as His prophet.
Step 4: Just as the Watchtower has been false in its prophecies, it is
also false in its doctrines.
PRINCIPLE 4: Do not argue doctrine or argue over biblical passages until
you have caused the Witness to recognize and to acknowledge that the
Watch tower is a false prophet.
PRINCIPLE 5: After instilling doubt about Watch tower authority, share
your salvation testimony, point out specific verses on salvation, or
leave them with a gospel tract (see bottom of RESOURCES)
Books:
Duggar, Gordon E. Jehovah's Witnesses--Watch Out for the Watchtower.
Baker Book House,1985, Gruss, Edmond C. Apostles of Denial. Presbyterian
and Reformed Publishers Co.,1970.
Morey, Robert A. How to Answer a Jehovah's Witness. Bethany House
Publishers,1980.
Organizations
Personal Freedom Outreach
Box 26062, St Louis, MO 63136
Watchman Fellowship, Inc.
Box 13251, Arlington, Tx 76094
Bethel Ministries
Box 3818, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Witness, Inc.
Box 597, Clayton, CA 94517
Film:
Witnesses of Jehovah, distributed by Impact Resources,24722 Vista
Verde Dr., Murrieta, CA 92362. Call 1-800-333-6475.
An evangelistic companion to this tract I Am A
Witness, is available for distribution to Jehovah's Witnesses.
Order from: American Tract Society ù Box 462008 ù Carland,
TX 75046. Canadian Tract Society ù Box 203, Port Credit ù
Mississauga, ONT L5G 4L7 Printed in U.SA. Photography: C.
David Edmonson (c)1986 R133
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